VISAKHAPATNAM: Following allegations about the high-handedness of the police in lathicharging students during the protest at the Visakhapatnam District Collectorate Tuesday, collector N Yuvaraj Wednesday instructed joint collector II D Venkat Reddy to probe the incident and submit a report. He stated that the erring police personnel will not be spared. However, similar situations prevailed at the District Collectorate Wednesday also after police were forced to lathicharge, drag away agitating students, and detain some of them in police stations to bring the situation under control. Sources said that CPM senior leaders RKSV Kumar and B Lokanadham, who went to the III Town police station to enquire about the welfare of the arrested students, were also taken into custody.
Leaders of Human Rights Forum (HRF) strongly condemned the behaviour of the police towards the students and expressed outrage at the police resorting to such measures even Wednesday, when the students were staging peaceful protests. They said that this is a cruel act by the government, lathicharging students who came to report their problems.
Meanwhile, the bandh call given by the student organisations turned out to be a success with students staging another protest at the Collectorate which ended with the police arresting them.
The bandh call given by the SFI, DYFI and other student organisations after the police lathicharge on Tuesday was met with success. A large number of college students, mostly girls, and student leaders of various associations took out protests at various places in the city. The NH was blocked for a while by student organisations in the morning at Maddilapalem Junction. Students staged dharnas at various places and before colleges including AVN College, Women’s Degree College, while some students staged protests at GVMC, Jagadamba Junction and few other places.
Earlier in the day, a round table conference was held by the opposition parties, where the party members of Congress, CPM, CPI and few others condemned the incident and demanded strict action against the police.